Youngkin claims students were wronged. College experts say they needn’t worry.

Virginia’s governor is outraged over delayed delivery of National Merit commendations in Northern Virginia schools

January 27, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EST

Students at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, Va., saw their National Merit Scholarship commendations delayed, but experts say that it shouldn't affect students' ability to get into the college of their choice. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

6 min

Virginia’s governor is outraged. The state attorney general is investigating. Parents of college-bound students are up in arms. School leaders are apologizing and scrambling to rectify the oversight.

Yet the matter at the core of this drama — a delay in delivery of letters of commendation for standardized test scores at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and elsewhere in Northern Virginia — in all likelihood will have zero effect on the college admission prospects of any high school student or access to financial aid, according to experts in the field.